As per last entry, you may indeed find me and Newty hangin on the cover of last thursdays Daily Variety (supposedly People will run it next week). Though I will struggle to maintain the original agenda, TR-i EXPO threatens to become a political circus, what with endless inquiries about my views on affirmative action and term limits and whether we're going to add a run of gigs in New Hampshire.
Many have likened our speaker to the Pillsbury doughboy, but from personal experience I gained the distinct impression of a white chocolate Easter bunny. You know, hollow inside. I shook hands with him, conversed with him, gazed searchingly into his eyes (he couldn't tell, I was wearing shades) and even discretely rubbed up against him. Probe as I might, no soul.
Actually when he first layed eyes on me, I sensed a certain reflexive fearful apprehension. If my barely subconscious reaction to him is any indication, I think I know why. For probably his entire life he has oozed a kind of smarmy unctuousness, such that to see him is to want to take a swing at him. In retrospect, I believe I was suppressing a similar longing. Can you imagine him as president? Every pissant country in the world will take a poke at us, regardless of the consequences, and they WON'T EVEN KNOW WHY! They just wouldn't be able to help themselves.
Thursday was the first gig at the Edge in Palo Alto- suitably crappy. It's become something of a tradition to start the tour with the worst playing at the worst sounding gigs. I think that most of the people who show up are fully aware of that and tend to measure things not by our best gigs, but by other worst gigs. Like it wasn't as bad as the kickoff of the Second Wind Tour (at the Edge) or the immensly disappointing Utopia reunion (at Once Step Beyond in San Jose and the only US stop). Fortunately, these embarassments usually spur everyone to improve quickly so as not to relive the experience. Also, the incomprehensibly abysmal sound tends to confuse people as to exactly how good or bad we really are.
Well, tonight in Santa Cruz we will have an opportunity to test that theory, as the sound is considered to be reasonable at the Catalyst. Taking tommorrow off to dress like a hippie and hang at the Haight Street Fair. Can't be having a nervous collapse in front of the world press, can we?